Someone Like You
by booyahbecky
Summary: Edward moves to Forks with his family after an accident that wasn't supposed to happen. Bella, moves to Forks after her mother and father were killed in a car crash in Phoenix, she meets Edward mysterious and brooding, she recognizes him, where from?
1. The Beginning

**A/N: WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SCENES OF GRAPHIC VIOLENCE**

**Hi guys, the violence is really quite graphic in this chapter, there is also deaths as well, but it won't be like this for the whole story haha. It's quite a horrible beginning for a story, but I hope you enjoy! I typed this one out in a whole day, very proud of myself :) Drop me a review and enjoy Chapter 1 The Beginning.**

**Rebecca.**

BPOV

The wipers were going at manic speed in my Audi, trying to clear the torrential rain from my windscreen as I made my way home from school. The Beatles were singing softly from the radio as I released some pressure on the gas pedal; the rain was so heavy, I had to squint to see through the windscreen and even then I could hardly see a foot in-front of the car.

Today was not a good day to be driving, if I had knew that the weather was going to be this bad I would have hitched a ride with Emmett this morning, but no-one would have known that it was going to turn into a rain-storm, it was utterly unpredictable weather for Phoenix. The skies were usually bright blue with heat radiating of the dry and dusty ground and the sun so large it was as if you could touch it. This morning's weather had been a replica of that, but when I came out of Phoenix International High School around mid-day; juniors and seniors got half-days on Fridays, the rain had been bucketing down from the sky and the wind was whooshing around the school, making my hair fly all around my face as I sprinted to my cherry red Audi convertible, if this weather continued it's roof would be ruined.

I had only ever seen weather like this in Forks. It was where my dad, Charlie had grew up with my Gran and Grandpa Swan. They died before Emmett and I were born, and Charlie being the only child, inherited the house. We lived there for a while, but the never-ending rain had drove Mom mad and she insisted that we move to the hotter climate of Phoenix, when Emmett was five and I was four. We'd lived in Phoenix ever since, though we never sold the old house, Dad thought that we could use it as a holiday home during the summer, but that grew old fast, no-one wanted to visit the dreary isolated Forks when you had a bustling city at your feet. So Dad decided to get used to the city of Phoenix and enrolled as a police-officer, he was amazing at his job and soon became detective. He had a pay-roll that could keep Emmett and I satisfied with fast cars and all the latest high-tech and give Mom the money to open a small nursery business. We were happy.

As I pulled into the driveway, I tucked my blackberry and keys from the ignition into my purse, before opening the door and running wildly to the front porch clicking the car key to lock the Audi. Even though I had only ran for a few seconds I was drenched through from the torrential rain, I muttered angrily to myself about expensive clothes getting wet and shrinking as I took my house keys from the bag and put it into the lock, I turned it but it never moved. I frowned, the front door was never open, with Dad being a police-officer he had drilled it into all of us to keep the doors locked at all times, I shrugged it off, thinking that maybe Mom had went out to the garage and forgot to lock it again. She was always in on Friday's; it was her day off from working at Little Ones nursery.

I opened the door and squelched my way across the laminate flooring to the banister "Mom?" I yelled, "The front door's open." There was no answer. I climbed up the stairs and called out again, there was still no answer. I had a nagging feeling that someone was watching me; I shook it off quickly, thinking it was my imagination getting the better of me. I decided to change into sweats and phone her, I was getting really uncomfortable in these wet clothes. I walked into my room; it was a mess as usual. No matter how many times I tidied it, it would always return to this messy state. My mum nagged me all the time to tidy it, saying it was the messiest room in the house, but I fobbed her off by telling her I would tidy it soon, Emmett's room was tidier than mine. The lime green coloured walls were covered with posters of the Kings of Leon, and more of my favourite bands. The cream carpet was littered with dirty clothes, magazines and school books and my bed was how I had left it this morning, the sheets crumpled and the duck egg blue duvet pulled back to the bottom of the bed. I undressed quickly, and changed my underwear before choosing my red super dry sweats to put on, and scraping my damp hair back into a ponytail. I went into my en-suite and washed off my running make-up, before shutting my room door and heading downstairs.

I descended the stairs and grabbed the house phone, sitting on the fifth step of the stairs I dialled my mom's mobile and let it ring. After the fourth ring, I heard the unmistakable sound of "Amazing" by Bruno Mars fill the hallway. I wave of horror ran through me, Mom always had her phone with her. Always. It was coming from the kitchen, so I ran towards it, skidding slightly because of the fluffy socks I had shoved on my feet when I had changed. The door was closed, I gripped its handle and slowly pushed it open.

The maple wood kitchen with its cream counter tops, looked as it usually did, but there was a chopping board out with chopped carrots piled beside it and a carrot half chopped in the middle of it. A large kitchen knife lay close by. The oven had a pot on one of its hobs, and the gas was turned off. The sink was full of dirty dishes and the water was soapy. Mom's phone was lying on the breakfast bar in the middle of the kitchen emitting the music. It looked as though Mom had simply walked out of the kitchen. This freaked me out. It looked too normal. My heart was hammering in my chest, and the feeling of being watched was back. I whirled around, but saw no-body behind me. I walked over to Mom's phone and switched it off, before dialling my dads work number on the house phone I still had clutched to my ear.

The dialling tone started as I waited panicking, drumming my fingers on the breakfast bar. "Detective Swan speaking, how can I help?" said my Dad gruffly, from the other side of the phone. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding when I heard his voice and starting blabbering to him "Dad, I got home and the door was unlocked, and Mom wasn't home so I tried phoning her and her phone was in the kitchen, so I came through and it looks so normal, but something's not right Dad, I can feel it!"

I started sobbing down the phone and looked at my feet. I stopped crying abruptly. On the floor beside me, were large muddy foot-prints. Foot-prints, that didn't belong to my Mom or anyone else that lived here. They were large and looked as though they were someone's bare feet. They were medium size, too small for my brother or fathers feet and too wide for mine and my Moms. They led from the patio doors to the living room door. I didn't know how I hadn't noticed them. I exhaled shakily. I heard a soft thud from upstairs and flinched violently. There was someone here, I could feel it.

"Daddy, there's someone else in the house. Come home please! There's someone here!" I whimpered, trying to keep as quiet as possible, while thoughts of my Mom tied up somewhere in the house and large men with knives filled my mind.

"Bella! Bella, listen to me, I need you to go into the cupboard in the kitchen, where Emmett keeps his football equipment, there's a baseball bat in there. I want you to take the bat and come back into the kitchen and shut all the doors that lead there and wait for me. Your mother's smart, she'll be fine. I need you to do that and stay on the phone to me, okay? I'm on my way home just now." He said urgently and I could here him rustling around.

"Okay Daddy," I said and crept towards the cupboard, "I'm going to the cupboard." I turned the handle silently and stepped in. It was filled with Emmett's football and baseball stuff, I quietly extracted the baseball bat, my heart racing at a hundred miles minute and my veins pumping adrenaline. I stepped back out of the cupboard and shut the door tight, the phone balancing between my ear and my shoulder and the baseball bat hanging by my side. My hands were shaking as I made my way to the door I had entered from the hall and shut it quickly. I regretted it when it thumped loudly against the frame. I whimpered softly to myself and froze on the spot listening for any noises. I heard nothing. It was eerily silent.

"Bella, do you have the bat? Are you okay?" My dad said, I could here the car engine in the background. It soothed me slightly that he was on the way, even if it was a fifteen minute drive from the station to out house.

"Yeah, I've got it, I'm shutting the doors." I whispered, while walking towards the living room door. My hand shook as I tried to shut it. It was one of those stiff and bulky doors that were hard to move, I struggled with it but it wouldn't shut.

That's when I heard the footsteps coming towards me, slowly. I filled with terror. I knew it wasn't my Mom, if it was she would have shouted out to me or walked faster. No. This was someone I didn't know. It was the person whose muddy footprints were spattered across the kitchen. I felt sick with horror as I stood, frozen with terror listening to the footsteps.

"Bella? Are you okay honey, speak to me!" My Dad's voice brought me back to what was happening.

"Dad, they're coming. What do I do, Daddy?" I whimpered, gripping onto the baseball bat tightly and bringing it up to my shoulder, waiting for this person to reach me and surely try to hurt me.

"Run, Bella! Get out of the house now!" He ordered down the phone.

I took a few steps back from the living room door and turned to sprint towards the patio door, I started to run but as I reached my destination, I slipped on my socks and fell into the table and chairs in-front of my escape route. I felt blood trickling through my hair, where I had hit my head. I scrambled up and turned around to see a man leering at me from the doorway with a horrible smile playing on his lips.

He was average height, with average looks. He had filthy blond hair that was tied back in a ponytail, and his clothes were dirty and torn. He looked as if he was homeless, or didn't own a shower or a washing machine.

"Bella," he murmured walking towards me slowly, that horrible smile plastered on his face. "I've been waiting for you." His voice was rough and throaty, as if he needed a drink of water. It sent chills up my back.

I walked backwards not wanting him near me, until my head hit the glass of the patio door. I turned slightly and fumbled with the deadbolt on the door, there was only the deadbolt and an alarm, you didn't need a key to get in. He was getting closer and I was scrambling with the alarm, I had typed in the code and was about the run out of the house when he spoke again.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that Bella. You wouldn't want me to hurt your mother again would you?" That stopped me in my tracks. I had forgotten all about my mother in the heat of the moment. I was furious with myself, how could I have forgotten her? Then I realised the word _again_.

He had already hurt her. The phone fell out of my hand and I gripped my hands tightly around the bat. Gone was the fear, I was filled with rage. I ran towards this horrible man and started hitting him repeatedly over the head with the bat. He started screaming as I kept hitting him, tears pouring out of my eyes as I thought of what he could have done to my mother.

Suddenly I was on my back on the ground and the baseball bat was lying four feet away from me, I turned onto my stomach and tried to reach for it but as I did it was lifted away from me.

"I don't think so." said this horrible man that had hurt my mother, I was proud to see that he had a nose-bleed and a nasty head injury. I turned back onto my back and saw his bare-foot aiming for my stomach. When it connected I felt a terrible pain in my gut, and I couldn't breathe. I gasped as I tried to get the breath back into my unresponsive lungs. He kicked me again and I screamed in agony as I heard the crack of one of my ribs. He started to punch my face hard, as I screamed in pain wishing it would stop and my father would come and rescue me. I was slipping into a faze, it was so much more comforting than being in the harsh reality where this man was punching my body, repeatedly bruising it.

I felt him reach for the waistband of my sweats and get on top of me when I realised that I had to fight back, or he would rape me. I leant up and started scratching at his face leaving angry red marks all over and shoving him with all the strength I could muster off of the top of me. He fell over screaming at me and I crawled quickly away, wincing in agony at my cracked ribs. I saw the baseball bat in front of me and reached for it, when I was pulled back violently my fingernails digging uselessly into the tiles.

"No-one ever gets away from James baby." He whispered in my ear. He stood up to his full height and stamped his foot on my leg. I screamed out, the most horrible pain was going through my body as James stamped his foot again and again on my now broken leg. Tears streamed down my face as I watched him. He stopped and I sighed in relief. I was stupid to think that he would just go. He grabbed my hair and started pulling me backwards out of the kitchen and into the hall, we reached the stairs and he started pulling me up the stairs, my head bumping against each stair repeatedly. I was soothed that I would see my mother again, but I didn't know what he had done to her. My stomach clenched at the thought. We reached the top of the stairs and I saw the trail of blood behind me, I could feel the warm liquid coating my hair as he dragged me into my parent's bedroom.

My mom was lying on-top of the king sized bed with her hands chained to the bed post and her mouth gagged with a dirty rag. I surveyed her face and was filled with relief when I saw that she only had a black eye, nothing worse. When she saw me being dragged into the room, her eyes popped wide, and she began to flail around on the bed screaming behind the gag. I tried to soothe her, but I couldn't make my lips move to speak. James lifted me roughly onto the bed as I cried out, and produced handcuffs from his pocket. He put one on the bedpost and the other on my left arm and locked them. I reached my right hand out to my mother, who was hand-cuffed at the other side of the bed with tears running down her face steadily. She grabbed my hand cradling it in hers, and started to rub soothing circles on it. I would have taken the gag out of her mouth, but right now I was too sore to move, it felt as though I had been run over twice by a lorry. I shut my eyes; it was small comfort for my mother to be doing this while I was in the worse condition ever. My right leg was broken, my face busted up and at least one rib cracked. What a great day.

James was sitting on an armchair to the right of the bed, holding a gun in his hands while tapping his bare-foot on the ground. He had a small smile on his face as though he was pleased at what he had done to me and my mother. I was glad that Emmett wasn't here. Even though he was strong and muscled, James had a gun, and one wrong move and he would be dead. My mother and I were more careful than that, I had inherited my cautiousness from her. We sat in silence for a few minutes before he spoke.

"You can blame your father, and your husband for this you know," He said gesturing to us with the gun. "I want payback for what he did to Victoria." He growled in a voice so deadly I cowered against the headboard and squeezed my mother's hand. "I had only nipped out to get the spaghetti for dinner, and when I got back, the house was on fire, I tried to get in, to save her, and I could see her at the window, screaming at me to help her. But when I got there, police were arriving, and you're father, he stopped me from saving Victoria! He let her die in that fire, when I could have saved her!" he screamed at us, tears filling those vicious grey eyes. "And now its pay-back, I'm going to kill all of you, him last, to show him what grief there is when you lose a loved one. And then I can be with Victoria." He said smiling at us as though he had just announced Christmas was coming early.

"So now we wait for Daddy." He said smiling widely at us both.

Just then I heard my father burst through the front door, screaming our names, I prayed to God that he wouldn't find us, but God wasn't listening to me today. I heard his heavy footsteps run upstairs, and he ran into the room we were being held captive in, sopping wet and dripping all over the chocolate brown carpet. "Bella, Renee!" He breathed, then he saw my face and body and his face went red with fury. He whirled round and saw James and lunged at him. They scrapped with each other before a gun-shot echoed through the room.

I screamed out, when I heard it, not knowing who was hurt and who had fired the shot. My father screamed out in agony and horror flooded me as I realised he had been hit. James and my Dad separated and my father was clutching his knee. Blood was spilling out of it and staining the chocolate brown carpet. My head whirled as I saw my father-my hero screaming in pain as James starting laying punches into him before hitting him over the head with the gun, knocking him unconscious.

I started sobbing my heart out, seeing my father lying so defenceless and vulnerable. James started pulling him out into the hall. I heard my fathers head hitting the carpeted stairs as James pulled him downstairs. He wouldn't kill him yet. I looked out the window and saw that the torrential rain was still continuing. I couldn't even try to escape my broken leg made it impossible. I heard James thudding his way up the stairs, before entering the room and striding over to me, and unlocking the handcuffs. He slung me over his shoulder and I yelped at the pain. He hit me hard in the side of the stomach.

"Don't make another sound, or I'll make you watch your mother being slowly tortured and then killed, do you understand?" he said lowly into my ear. I nodded my head, but he hit me again harder.

"Do you understand?" He yelled making me wince.

"Yes." I whispered hoarsely, the small movement of my lips, hurting me a little bit more.

"Good." He said and proceeded to taking me downstairs and outside to my Dads Range Rover. I was soaked by the time he took me round to the passenger's side before setting me roughly on the seat. I noticed my father slumped against the left side of the car, still unconscious.

"Don't worry," James said "We're only going for a ride." He said smiling evilly at me.

I shrunk into my seat and shut my eyes, this couldn't be happening, only two hours ago I had been in the school canteen discussing nail colours and boys with Bree, like an ordinary girl, and now I was battered and bruised and being held captive because of a mistake my father had made at work.

I saw my mother through the pouring rain, being carried by James to the back seat of the car. He set her in the seat and tied her hands and feet roughly with pieces of rope. She whimpered through her gag, which was still on, and James punched her hard in the gut, before retreating to the driver's seat.

He started the engine and locked the doors before setting off towards one of the few forests in Phoenix. He drove down the freeway, no-one knowing that there were three people kidnapped in the dark green Range Rover that was going too fast. Fifteen minutes passed, we reached an abandoned highway and he did a one eighty suddenly in the middle of the road. He turned to look at me.

"I was going to drown you all, but I decided I would be generous and just kill us all in a car crash. It will be more painful, but less drawn out," He said flashing a smile at me. "Oh look, Detective Swan's waking up too, isn't this nice? All of us just waiting to die, in the same car, I think we need some music." He said. This man definitely had problems.

He switched the radio on, "Amazing" was on, James began humming along to it and said to my mom,

"This is your ring tone, isn't it Renee?" Grinning widely and shutting his eyes.

That's when I saw the car approaching, it was a black Mercedes, and it was driving too fast, it was definitely not going to stop in-time to not hit us. I shut my eyes waiting for the impact of the car hitting us, and all of us surely dieing, when I heard the click of a lock and felt a shove on my left shoulder. My door opened and I fell out of the car, just as it hit the Mercedes. My Mom had unlocked my door and my Dad had pushed me out, saving me in their last moments. I crawled away from the scene just as my Dad's car exploded, filling the air with smoke and the explosive noises. I began screaming. I screamed and screamed, my father was dead because of me, I had phoned him bringing him to his death, and then he had saved me before he died. My parents were dead. They were gone, and they were never coming back.

Grief built in my chest overpowering me as I collapsed at the side of the road.

**:O What did you think of that load of violence and angst? You all probably hate me now for killing of Renee and Charlie, but vent your frustration in a review. Next chapter in a couple of weeks. Hope you enjoyed!**

**Rebecca.**


	2. Light and Dark Part 1

**Hello fanfictioners! Sorry this chapter's up later than expected, its a two parter because it was too long to fit into one. Hope you enjoy this one!**

**Three Months Later.**

**BPOV**

I was drowning. Water surrounded me, I couldn't breath. I couldn't think. I tried to swim towards the light above me, but it was so far away. My legs were getting heavier as I tried to kick them, my arms were flaying uselessly in front of me. I couldn't breath. I tried to swim again towards the light, but I couldn't. I was looking all around me searching for something that I didn't know I was searching for. When I saw a Range Rover, metal twisted grotesquely, windscreen smashed revealing three bloody bodies, blood tingeing the water a faint pink. The body in the driver's seat; my brother. The other bodies belonged to my mother and father. The heads bowed down towards there bodies and blood seeping out from everywhere. The rust and salt smell filled my nose, the water was a deep burgundy and heavy, up to my waist. I couldn't move, my arms were pinned to my sides, my legs like jelly. I welcomed death. I let the blood surround me, slowly reaching my nose. I had nobody left; no-one was coming to save me anymore. It was just me in this world. I closed my eyes as the blood went over my head.

I woke up, my teeth clamping a pillow as I tried to stifle my scream. My body was covered in a cold sweat and my hair was stuck to the back of my neck. Just another dream I told myself, just another dream. I sat up in my bed and kicked my covers off and looked around my new room.

In my parents will, they left us a small fortune, including both houses in Phoenix and Forks. We were rich. We inherited everything they owned and my dad's pension lump sum, which would come in every month. While I was recovering in hospital, Emmett put our house in Phoenix up for sale and Mom's business. We both couldn't stand to live in Phoenix anymore, after what had happened. It held too many bad memories; especially for me. Since Emmett was eighteen, he became my legal guardian, so I was allowed to stay with him. We decided to move back to Forks, our original home. My dad had renovated it after we moved to Phoenix, so it was practically a brand new 5 bed 3 bath house. Emmett hired a decorator to make the house our home and that they did. The house was cosy and luxurious now, and my room was beautiful. It was modern meet classic, and it worked perfectly.

I flicked my bedside light on and got out of bed, according to my alarm clock it was 5.30 am. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep now so I may as well start getting ready for today; my first day at Forks High School. I hoped that my school in Phoenix sent my documents over, I really couldn't be bothered explaining my grades to the teachers.

It was a small comfort that Emmett would be at school with me today, _it _happened just as the school year had started, when Emmett was a senior and me, a junior so he still had a few months left before he went to college to study Professional Sports. I however still had two years of utter boredom before I could escape from this tiny little town that was hardly a pinprick on the map.

There weren't decent shops, or a cinema and the population was only 3000. I was bored out of my mind. Our house was one of the most modern in the town; all the others were picturesque bungalows on postage stamp lots, with crappy out of date cars parked in the drive-way. We stood out like a sore thumb. Our house was massive and had a garden, with apple trees and rosebushes and permanent puddles of muddy water. Emmett had a Porsche Boxster Spyder and a BMW 1 Coupe. I had a Mercedes CL 63 AMG and a BMW 6 convertible; I did say we were rich.

We were the talk of the town; the orphans that moved from sweltering Phoenix to rainy Forks after a tragic accident. School was going to be horrific with everyone pointing and staring at Emmett and I. When I went to the supermarket yesterday, three people stopped me to talk about my parents. I winced ever time they said their names; they obviously didn't know how difficult it was for me to talk about them. Only Emmett and the doctors knew that I was involved in…_it._ Emmett never knew about my overwhelming guilt though, he never knew that I had practically killed our dad by calling him _that_ night. He never knew about their last act to save me. I couldn't bring myself to tell him. I would fall apart into a million pieces, I was already beyond repair, why break myself more?

I forced these thoughts of darker times out my head, as I felt my stomach begin to ache again, like it usually does when I think of _that day._ I went to my bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. My brown locks were scraped back in a messy ponytail and my skin was flushed and shiny, my eyes were framed with purplish blue bags, the tell-tale sign that I hadn't been sleeping right. I heaved a sigh at my horrible appearance, undressed and stepped into the shower, letting the warm water soothe me as I washed my hair.

Shower finished, I went back to my room and got dressed for the day. I was keeping it simple but cute with a plaid shirt, tee, skinny jeans and a pair of chucks. I dried my hair and curled it slightly before putting it up in a messy ponytail. Make-up applied I admired my handiwork. You couldn't see the bags under my eyes anymore, my brown eyes were framed with long lashes, and my skin looked flawless. It was as good as it was going to get for me.

I walked downstairs to the kitchen, stumbling slightly and grabbed an apple. I sat at the breakfast bar and looked out the window. You could see the massive apple tree where Emmett and I used to play, the rope swing still attached. It was here that I sustained my first injury, when I was three, an apple fell of the tree and hit me on the head while I was on the swing. I fell off and banged my head against the tree trunk. God knows how I managed it, but I did. That was the beginning of my unfortunate events.

There were flowers sprouting up all around the garden, and ivy was tangled up on the ancient shed at the bottom of the garden, muddy puddles littered the ground and the grass was mossy green. You could see other massive trees crowding behind our fence, leading into the woods where I had once got lost.

I wondered what school would be like today. There were people that I knew from my few visits to Forks over the years. Alice and Charlotte Brandon were the sisters that lived a few streets down from us. Alice was my age, but Charlotte was two years older and had moved to the University of California with Peter Whitlock, brother of Jasper Whitlock who was Emmett's age. They would both be there; Jasper and Alice. Alice and I had been childhood friends turn pen-pals, but that died off when we were fifteen, I hoped she would welcome me back with open arms; it would make my first day much better, I at least wouldn't have to walk around on my own. Others I vaguely remembered Tanya, Irina and Kate Denali. They would all be there today unless one of them had moved. From what I remembered the Denali's had been fairly nice to me. Last night at the supermarket, I met Kate. She gave me a wave before walking away. Well it wasn't as if we had been best buddies of anything, but that wave made me feel a tiny bit better about today. Maybe school wouldn't be that bad.

Emmett interrupted me from my musings by ambling into the kitchen. Half asleep, he poured himself some cereal, spilling coco snaps all over the counter.

"Shit." He mumbled rubbing his eyes and offering me a bleary eyed smile, before scooping up the spilt cereal and throwing it into the bin. I chuckled; Emmett was definitely not a morning person. I jumped of my stool and chucked my apple towards the bin; it missed and bounced off the side of the bin before rolling into the middle of the floor leaving a sticky trail behind it. I sighed and picked it up, placing it in the bin this time. I went to the kettle and poured Emmett and I a cup of coffee.

"I see your hand and eye coordination skills haven't improved sis." Emmett chuckled scratching his tousled black curls. I threw him a glare, before handing him the coffee-three sugars and extra milky, which he took gratefully.

"I see your hangovers haven't improved." I shot back, taking a sip of my coffee.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't give me the lecture Belly-bear. I know. I shouldn't be drinking if I'm driving the next day. But I met up with Jasper ya know and we were just talking about all times and we got a bit carried away on the beer front." He said smiling sheepishly at me and gulping down his coffee

I put my coffee mug in the sink and headed out of the kitchen, stumbling yet again on the doorframe.

"Just take a shower then, and don't think I'm riding with you when you were drinking less than twenty four hours ago." I called, heading to my room to sort out my bag for the day. School didn't start until nine and according to my alarm it was only half seven. That's what I get for waking up at half five in the morning I suppose. I picked up my copy of Wuthering Heights and began to read. I had started reading it again last night, but fell asleep before I even reached the first chapter.

I was caught up in the world of Cathy and Heacliffe when Emmett called to tell me it was time to go. I had been reading for almost an hour. Flustered I stood up and patted my clothes making sure my clothing was on right and my pants weren't on top of my jeans and my shirt wasn't inside out. Satisfied I made my way into the bathroom and brushed my teeth, before giving myself a little pep talk about how school couldn't be that bad.

I grabbed my jacket, slipping it on while I swiped the keys for my Mercedes, my new Blackberry and my iPod off of the bedside table. I ran down the stairs; nearly tripping on the third step and out to the car.

My baby. It was sleek and black with leather seats and all high-tech. I loved it to bits. I hopped inside and plugged the iPod in scrolling down to All Time Low. Let it Roll filled the car as I waved at Emmett who was locking the door, switched on the engine and backed out of the drive.

The drive to school was uneventful, so I jammed up the volume of the cd player. I earned a few glares from some oldies on streets when I passed but I just ignored them, I knew my music was too loud for 8.30 in the morning, but fuck me if I was gonna turn it down.

I pulled up in the school parking lot eventually after passing it twice. The school looked like a block of semi detached houses, with the red bricks and the gazillions of shrubbery surrounding the school. No security or anything. I suppose in a town this small you didn't need to worry about crimes. Everyone was nice. Overwhelmingly nice. It almost made me feel sick how strangers would stop you in the streets to talk about some crap. I missed the hustle and bustle of Phoenix and the fact that no-one would talk to you as you went about your business. Forks however, was straight out of the 1960's. People would have conversations with strangers and ask them all sorts of questions so they could pass them onto their friends at lunch the next day. Everyone would smile at each other, in Phoenix if you smiled at someone, they would look at you as if you were insane. There were no secrets in Forks.

The parking lot was empty, except a silver Volvo Coupe that I didn't recognise. I was under the influence that the Swans cars were the newest in Forks. Obviously not, this car had a 2010 registration plate. Competition. I smiled; there must be new people in Forks that had slipped through the radar of the gossip mongers. Lucky them. I wish I had. Everyone in Forks had second-hand cars, well except from me, Em and the New People.

I took my phone out and text Em, telling him I was going in. I didn't want people to think that I needed my big brother for everything. Even though I did. I knew he would be in the same building, so he was giving me distant support…kinda? I unplugged my iPod and put it into my pocket with my phone.

I could do this, it was only school right? Only two years of tedium to go before I was free of all ties. I could do it. I nodded my head, probably looking like a weirdo to anyone who was looking in my direction and got out of car. Locking the door behind me, I adjusted my bag and headed through the door marked office.

It was warm and bright, the walls a dull orange and the carpet, that weird stuff the school always have. Like a really hard carpet. There was a massive desk in the middle of the room, covered in pieces of paper and leaflets and yet _more_ plants. Didn't they have enough outside? There was a squidgy sofa in the corner and other hard back chairs against the wall. I approached the front of the desk and rang the bell hesitantly. A women popped up from underneath the desk.

"Hello, how can I help?" she said politely, taking in my appearance for a few seconds before snapping her eyes back up to mine. She had unnatural red hair and black blocky glasses on hiding her brown eyes. She looked middle-aged and was wearing a frilly pink shirt. Did I under dress?

"Erm, I'm new here. Bella Swan?" I said uncomfortably. She rifled through her papers for a few seconds before handing me a sheet of paper.

"This is your timetable, you'll need this to navigate your way around school, and this is your locker code" she said business-like and handing me another sheet of paper after scribbling a number onto the bottom edge of it.

"Thanks." I said gratefully, now I wouldn't have to wander around the school for hours looking for my classes. Her eyes softened and I knew what was coming.

"I'm sorry for you loss Isabella, Chief Swan was an amazing" I cut her off and turned to the doors to my right which would lead me to the lockers.

"Thanks." I muttered again before fleeing through the door, pretending I was engrossed in the map, in-case anyone was looking. I knew at least someone would give me sympathy. I didn't want it. It made me feel even guiltier about _that_ day.

My chest started to throb as I tried to prevent the thoughts of what had happened three months ago. I was still raw I guess, living in the land of numb prevention. It was better than facing up to the problems, I had tried that, put it made the pain worse. As though the wind had been knocked out of me and I couldn't breathe. Like a part of my chest was missing and I had to wrap my arms around myself to make it better. It wasn't physical pain. It was emotional pain, and everyone knows that that's worse. You know that physical pain will go away eventually, maybe leaving a scar behind. But emotional, never goes away. It stays in a corner of your mind eating away at your thoughts, repeating your most dreaded memories, killing you on the inside first. That's why I lived in a world full of numb. I had to build walls. I couldn't let anyone behind those walls, not even Emmett because if I was hurt, the walls would surely crumble and I would break.

My feet which had been wandering at their own accord stopped in front of a massive wall of lockers. I glanced down at the timetable, where I found the number the receptionist had scrawled down at the bottom right hand corner of the page. _Isabella Swan No. 123_. 123, not bad, it was easy to remember. I scanned the sea of lockers in search of my own, when I found it. It was battered and blue-grey in colour, but it was big enough to hold all my books, so I wasn't complaining. I chucked all the books from my bag in, excluding my English and Math textbooks, I had them the first two periods today, and shut the door over, fiddling with the knob to put in my number sequence.

The first bell rang and I tried to figure out, using the map, where my English class was, for a school with a student mass of only 900 it was massive. The corridor started to fill, people began to gawk at me, and some even had their mouths open. What was I? An object in a museum? I snapped.

"Didn't your mother tell you it was rude to stare?" I huffed, barging through the sea of people towards my English class which I had worked out was down the next corridor to the left and then to the right.

I had just turned left, still receiving stares from other students when I heard someone call my name.

"Bella Swan!" they said, and I winced. Everyone with-in hearing distance had turned around to look at me curiously, the new girl at Forks High School.

I searched for the owner of the voice, and when I found it I repressed a sigh. Mike Newton. His blonde hair was gelled and spiked up, his blue eyes standing out on his still child-like oval face. He had been trying to get me to go out with him every time I visited Forks. Of course I refused every time, he was a man whore. His gentlemanly way of treating girls was to stick a tongue in their mouth and cop a feel without permission, and then ask you out. He had kissed me once and I nearly vomited, his sweaty hands touching my waist, and his slimy tongue darting out to touch my lips trying to make them open so he could sweep my mouth. The thought almost made me gag just now. When I visited when I was fifteen, he had slept with almost half the female population in Forks. I wouldn't want to go near him; probably touching him would give me a sex related disease.

"Mike." I said, nodding at him, before turn away and walking quickly, praying to God that he would take the hint and leave me alone, but I heard running footsteps and Mike was standing beside me, smiling widely in a supposed-to-be-sexy way. Cue the vomit.

"You look pretty, Bella. How have you been lately? Do you want me to help you find your class?" he said hopefully, his stupid smirk still in place. I wouldn't trust Newton to take me any where; he'd probably take me to a janitor's closet and tell me the next lesson was Sexual Health. Cue the third gag of the morning.

"Its fine, Mike, I'm pretty certain where I'm going." I said politely, walking away and leaving him in the crowded corridor. He was wearing a wounded expression, but I couldn't care less; he was only being nice for a fuck.

A few gawks later and I was walking into my English room, the class had started and the teacher was talking. When she saw me she stopped talking and gave me a sympathetic smile before pointing me to a seat at the back of the class, where a girl with dark brown hair and glasses was sitting. The whole class was staring at me with a knowing look in their eye as if they knew exactly what had happened to me. I wanted to shout and scream at them that they didn't know shit, but instead I trudged up to the back of the class and plopped in my seat, taking out my pen and notes jotter. The teacher started talking again, and though I knew exactly what she was talking about, I copied down the notes carefully and tried to look as though I was listening.

I don't know how the class managed to look at me, but they did. I flushed beetroot red every time someone stared long enough to make me feel uncomfortable.

The class finished and as I was packing up, the girl sitting next to me offered me her hand.

"I'm Angela Weber," she said quietly, smiling at me. I liked her instantly. She looked like one of those people that you could tell all your secrets to, and she wouldn't breathe a word to anyone.

"Bella Swan," I said shaking her hand, and returning her smile.

"What are you in next?" she asked still smiling, her blue eyes warm and comforting.

"Erm," I glanced at my timetable before replying. "Maths." I grimaced as we walked together out of the classroom.

"Me too, with Mr Barnstaple?" she replied, looking at her own time-table as we stepped out into the corridors. Few people were looking at me now, and I felt better, they were getting bored of me already thank God.

"Yep." I replied, popping the p. Angela led me to the classroom and I gave her a grateful smile when she offered me the seat next to her. I had made my first friend of the day.

"Oh my God! Bella Swan!" I heard Alice squeal as I walked into the cafeteria. She hadn't changed a bit. Her hair was jet black and spiky, her body tiny and pixy-like, and her eyes a tawny yellow. She ran towards me and pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged her back laughing. It was as if those few years of non-contact had been forgotten and we had been best friends the whole time.

"Look at you girl! You look hot!" she said loudly, earning a few stares from the tables. I blushed bright red at the compliment.

"Thanks, you too!" I replied, drinking in her appearance. She was dressed head to do in designer gear; typically Alice.

"I see you've went with the simple but cute look," She said knowingly, winking at me.

"Works perfectly," she whispered in my ear, "The boys are drooling."

I blushed yet again and whispered back into her ear, "I see you've went with the classic chic look, Jasper Whitlock can't keep his eyes off you."

She blushed bright red and rolled her eyes at me, before taking my hand dragging me to the table where she was sitting.

I saw Angela sitting at a table with the Denali's and other people, I gave her a smile and wave.

Emmett was sitting with Jasper and a girl and a boy at the table Alice was dragging me to.

The girl I didn't know had golden locks that flowed down her back, ending just short of her waist. Her skin was tanned evenly and her piercing blue eyes were almost hypnotising. She was dressed fashionably, and looked like one of those girls that would throw a fit if her nail broke. Talking about nails, hers were perfectly manicured and painted blood red.

The boy was beautiful. It was the only word that could do him justice. His bronze locks were twisted up into an untidy disarray and his green eyes were breathtaking. I almost turned into a puddle on the floor when I looked at them. His face was chiselled beautifully, and he had a nine-o'clock shadow. His skin was porcelain coloured and clear, like my own, of spots or blemishes. He looked like an angel, he was so perfect. Yet underneath his eyes lay purplish blue shadows and his eyes looked troubled. I felt a pang of recognition as I looked at him, but as I scoured my memories for any hint of him, surely I would have remembered a face as beautiful?

I slipped into the seat beside Emmett and whispered a quiet "Hey," to him, before turning back to Alice, who had sat in the seat beside me.

"Okay guys, you all remember Bella?" she said, addressing the whole table. There were a few nods and the New People shook their heads. One of them must be the owner of the beautiful Volvo Coupe outside.

"Oh yeah! I'm so sorry! This is Rosalie and Edward Cullen, they just moved from Phoenix like you Bella, isn't that weird? And this is Bella Swan, who moved from Phoenix too." Alice said excitedly gesturing to Edward and Rosalie, then me. What weird names, they were really old-fashioned, the early 1900 era. I looked at them both and nodded, the girl name Rosalie responded with a grin and the boy named Edward ignored me completely before popping his earphones in.

I was surprised, what did I do? Well two could play at that game, I turned back to Alice and we began discussing the years gone by, and mostly shopping. Alice was as obsessed as I was with fashion, and we spent lunch discussing our most recent designer buys. She almost had as much clothes as me. We decided that a sleepover was in order to catch up with each other, so Alice was staying at mine tonight. I'd forgotten how much I loved her.

A few minutes later, I chanced a look at Edward. His earphones were in and he was staring off into space. God, he was beautiful. I looked at Rosalie and saw she was talking to Emmett quietly. Looking at Emmett I saw him smiling and laughing at what ever Rosalie was saying, God he had his gooey eyes on, he fancied Rosalie. Just lovely.

I went to grab my lunch, only ordering a soda. I wasn't hungry today, at all. I was lost in my thoughts of tonight and what pyjamas I could wear and how I would have to tidy my room before Alice came, when I bumped into something solid.

"Shit," I mumbled looking straight in-front of me, I realised it was a chest, a very toned one at that, with the white t-shirt clinging to it. I looked up and saw those amazingly green eyes looking at me angrily.

"Jesus fuck, watch where you're going!" he said angrily, sidestepping around me. That got my guard up.

"Well sorry douchebag, but could you not have stepped out of the way if you saw me coming? But you didn't so you obviously weren't looking either." I said walking back to the table, my hand clutched round the bottle of soda.

"Bitch," I heard him mumble. I whirled back round to face him, who the fuck did he think he was calling a bitch? My anger took over.

"I'm sorry; I didn't catch that, bitch was it? If I'm a bitch then you're a depressed emo who doesn't appreciate life." I said angrily, frustration seeping through my voice. We had attracted a few stares from people around the cafteria, the newbies fighting and all.

"You don't know shit Swan." He said, his hands balling into fists, making the muscles on his arm bulge and his veins become more pronounced, his eyes intense and dark, all most dangerous looking. He didn't scare me.

"You don't know shit Cullen." I said, letting my emotions get the better of me. He didn't know what a shit life was. He definitely didn't know shit. I turned back to the table, people's eyes following me as I sat down. Alice was staring at me with her mouth open, Jasper had a small smile on his face, Rosalie was frowning, her eyebrows scrunching together and Emmett had a massive grin on his face.

"That's how you roll sis!" Emmett crowed, slapping my back so hard it hurt. I rolled my eyes.

"I was defending myself Emmett! Not exactly bitch-slapping." I replied shaking my head.

"I'm sorry for my brother's behaviour Bella, he's a bit…sensitive just now." Rosalie said quietly, looking at me curiously.

"It's fine Rosalie," I replied smiling at her. She looked like a really nice girl, with one messed up brother.

Just then Edward stormed pass, grabbing his bag from the chair he was sitting on and flipped me the bird. He walked out of the cafeteria and disappeared from sight.

"I better go talk to him," Rosalie said apologetically scooping up her bag and giving us all a smile before following the route of her brother.

"Bella," Alice said seriously after Rosalie had disappeared. "That was fuck awesome." Jasper nodded his head to her statement and I burst into laughter.

My head was reeling from what he had said and what I had said back, I mean we had only known each other for a few minutes and we were fighting? He made me so frustrated and I didn't even know him for Christ's sake! But I could still feel that pang of recognition when I looked into his eyes.

I spent the rest of lunch pondering Edward Cullen and his mysterious ways, not taking part in the conversation flowing around me unless asked for an opinion.

I got to my next class late, as I tried to figure out which direction to go in because that stupid map was as useless as a empty chip poke. I finally found my Biology class, stepping in late for the second time today. Mr Banner looked at me sternly before pointing to a seat at the front of the class beside the one and only Edward Cullen who was shooting daggers at me.

You have got to be joking.

**SO? what did you think? Did I do an okay job or was it crap? Please review, I nearly fell off my bed when I got my first two, it was way too exciting! Part 2 up soon. Goodbye my lovelies!**

_**Rebecca.**_


	3. Light and Dark Part 2

**A/N Hello there :) this chapter took ages to write, about a month 'cause I couldn't decide what would happen :/ it's all sorted now though, I really hope you like it! **

Why does this shit only happen to me?

The class was silent as I walked in; keeping my head held high, I sauntered to the desk, trying to appear aloof and indifferent, as if it didn't really matter to me who I sat next to. But of course it mattered. I was internally cringing; I had pondered this boy all during lunch, thinking about his emerald green eyes, his bronze wayward locks and his fiery temper that matched mine. My anger towards him had ebbed only slightly and I had been glad to think I would never have to speak to him again, but that was out of the window now. It was certain that we would be doing practical in Biology, and that would mean inevitable conversation with your lab partner; the person you shared a desk with.

Of course, me being a klutz, sauntering didn't exactly help me keep my balance. As I neared the table, I could feel every pair of eyes trained on my back, and in Edwards case; my face. He was still glaring angrily at me, and that combined with the stares made me blush a deep red.

Somehow, I don't know how I managed it; my foot wrapped itself around the leg of the table beside my desk and I lost my balance. My hands shot reflexively out in front of me, onto my desk and skidded across it; to where Edward's hands were. My chin cracked loudly when it made contact with the hard table-top. My legs were dangling off the edge of the table, and my top half was sprawled across it.

Edward was looking at my hip, his eyes narrowed as he took in my small tattoo that was exposed, his hands that had been on the desk were clenched into fists again at his sides, a few giggles and mutters from my fellow class mates echoed around the classroom. I yanked my t-shirt down, so he couldn't see what it said. He probably wouldn't be able to read the words anyway; they were in Italian, but it was private, something that gave me strength. I got off the table stiffly and brushed myself down. I was humiliated. I took my seat and mumbled a short apology to Edward before starting to copy down the notes on the board gladly. Eager to be distracted from my first klutz disaster of the day. My chin was sore, I was certain I would have a bruise in the morning. I cursed myself for not wearing my hair down so I could create my infamous curtain and hide behind it for the rest of the class.

There was a tense silence between Edward and me. I wasn't saying a word to him until he apologised; I'm stubborn that way. He didn't seem the type that apologised though, so we would remain never talking. I was still angry about lunch, even though it had only been a teensy little thing. Who did he think he was calling me a bitch? I knew I shouldn't be so worked up over a small comment, but I hated being called names. And I also hated people judging me. I knew I shouldn't have responded with what I said; it meant that I was judging him by calling him a 'depressed emo.' But like I said, I wasn't going to apologise first, he started it in my book.

He must be smart, or a senior. This was a senior class; I had only got in because I was in the advanced placement group in Phoenix. He certainly seemed old enough to be one, matured, unlike most of the other boys in the school that I had experienced, with their ogling and crude remarks. I would have to ask Alice about that tonight, along with why he was here, annoying the hell out of me with his snarky remarks and stubbornness. Couldn't he just go back to where he came from and leave me alone so I could complete my education before fleeing from Forks? He was welcome to come back after I had fled.

As the class continued I kept copying down the notes; Mr Banner was gonna give me carpal tunnel, and pretended to listen to the lesson. It was mind-numbingly boring and I slipped into a stupor halfway through the class and thankfully the teacher never called on me for any questions. I copied down the assignment given at the end of class carefully; it wasn't much, only a few questions in our textbook to complete.

The bell rang and Cullen shot out of his seat like his ass was on fire. I heaved a sigh of relief, half thankful to Mr Banner for not doing any practical today and half thankful to Cullen's speedy exit and silent treatment, at least we didn't have to make conversation. I packed up my books and smiled at a few people that I had other classes with. A girl, who I vaguely remembered as Lauren and was in my Math class, drew me daggers as I passed by. What the fuck was her problem? I focused on keeping my anger down, and not to snap at her. I was trying to keep the little-miss-goodie-two-shoes act up as long as I could. I didn't want to get in any trouble at this school; I wanted to pass through as incident-free as possible. Punching bitches in the face didn't exactly get me into college.

I was surprised that I hadn't actually been giving a lecture by a teacher about 'making a scene in the lunch room.' I suppose they just let me off because I was 'going through the stages of grief.' Yeah, I know all the teacher phrases, I'm cool like that.

Stages of grief. Who would want to make that up? I wasn't able to relate to any of the stages. It was like I had made my own up. Guilt, grief, numbness, pain and a touch of bitterness.

I tried to move my thoughts onto more positive things, not letting my mind take me back to the first week after my parents had died. I didn't think of the hospitalisation, the look on Emmett's face when he told me what I had already knew. I didn't think of the agony that coursed through my body, physical and mental as I had ran from the hospital, out into the baking sun. I didn't think of the identification that the FBI had told us was necessary. I didn't think of the panic attacks. I didn't think of the subject as a whole.

Tonight with Alice would be good; we could catch up on what had been going on in each others lives so far. I wouldn't tell her some things though, obviously. They were private. But I was glad that Alice had welcomed me back after so many years, no exceptions. It made me feel as if my time in Forks would be bearable, a little less hard now that I had someone that I could rely on, outside of my only relative.

I walked to Spanish, trying ignoring the looks and whispers that seemed to echo all around me. They reminded me of when I had to return to school in Phoenix; to get my leaving form signed by all the teachers. I remembered my former best-friend holding hands with my former boyfriend. Everything had changed after the accident. I had needed them most at that time, but they were there, staring at me like an exhibit in a museum and passing comments about me between them, as if I couldn't hear them. I had felt alienated, like I felt now. I seemed to momentarily forget about Alice and the other friends I had met today, getting sucked into a downward spiral as the stares became too much for me to handle. I kept my pace quick, trying to remind myself that they didn't know anything about me, apart from my parent's death_._ They didn't know anything about me, or what happened, they don't know anything, I repeated to myself as paranoia swept over me and the door to my Spanish class seemed to get further and further away. My breathing became sharp as I inhaled and exhaled quickly. I couldn't breathe. The walls seemed to be closing in on me, suffocating me. I was stupid to think that I would need to take my pills this morning, everyone staring and looking at me was sure to set off my panic attacks. I needed to find Emmett before it became a full-blown attack. The corridors were slowly emptying, not fast enough for me to deal with the panic attack on my own or find Emmett. Already, people were looking at me funny, eyebrows furrowed as to why I bent over; panting as though I had just run a marathon. My palms were beginning to sweat as I wiped them on my jeans furiously, trying to maintain my breathing. It was getting worse and I couldn't move. People were shooting me worried glances, and a few from my classes asked me if I was okay, I tried to feign it off, wheezing a yes, rolling my eyes and smiling while my lungs seemed to become unresponsive to the breaths I was taking.

Just as I was about to collapse on the floor, I felt an arm wrap around my waist and slowly drag me down the corridor, whispering in my ear to take deep breaths and rubbing soothing circles into my back. I recognised that voice, it was Rosalie Cullen.

I leant heavily on her, letting her carry most of my weight as we went down corridors and through doors, I tried to breathe evenly, in through my nose, out through my mouth. Finally, we came to a halt and I bent over, grabbing my waist as though I had a stitch and breathed heavily, while Rosalie continued to rub circles into my back, soothing me. I don't know how long it was before I recovered from my attack, but I did. My heart rate went back to normal and I was able to look at Rosalie. Her lovely face was twisted with worry as she looked me over, pulling me into a tight hug, when she was sure the worse was over.

'You scared me there, are you okay?" she asked, pulling back, gripping my forearms and looking me over again.

'I'm fine Rosalie, it was just a panic attack…I er, never took my tablet this morning.' I admitted, humiliated that I had to share my problems with this beautiful girl. I looked down at my feet sheepishly. I realised that we were in the girls bathroom, it was empty. Everyone must be in class already, meaning that I was late for Spanish.

'Call me Rose,' she replied with a smile, before rooting around in her handbag looking for something. After a few seconds of looking, she pulled out a small pill box and handed it to me. Inside were Prozac, my prescription medicine for panic attacks. 'I want you to take one of those and go straight home.' She said, in an almost motherly voice that made my heart ache. Did Rosalie take panic attacks?

'What you're an expert now on panic attacks? Thanks by the way,' I said, gratefully swallowing my pill with the bottle of water she handed to me. 'So do you take them? Panic attacks I mean.' I asked her, curious to know if she did. We could relate with each other to some level if she did. I played with the bottle cap and leaned against the sinks waiting on her to reply. Her face hardened slightly, disappearing under a mask.

'No, Edward does.' She said, gauging my reaction, her shield up. I didn't know what to say. Edward Cullen, with the I-don't-give-a-shit exterior, suffered from anxiety? It blew me away. I tried to keep my face composed.

'Oh.' I muttered, stunned. 'Why did you guys move here anyway? I haven't seen you around town before.' I asked, returning my voice to its normal tenor and trying to hide my brewing curiosity and look as though I was just asking questions for the sake of asking questions, I wanted to know why these two teenagers, that were so beautiful, they looked like angels, moved here. To shitty Forks with nothing to offer but trees covered in green poo, and shitty houses straight from the fifties. Rosalie went into poker face mode. There was a long pause before she spoke again.

'Well things _happened_ back home that got difficult for the family, so we moved here to Forks." She said, underlying tones in her voice that immediately told me that she wasn't telling me the full story, of course why would she? I was an almost stranger to her; we had only been introduced at lunch and exchanged pleasantries. Then she had found me in the middle of a panic attack, and that had been the extent of our interaction.

I just nodded. It sounded exactly what I would say if a stranger asked me why I moved here. It certainly wasn't out of choice; that was for sure. I think it was the same for Rosalie, and the way she said 'back home' as though she still thought of Phoenix as her home, and Forks was just a temporary passage that she had to go through. I could relate to that. I could also sense that the sentence was final; no more was to be said about the subject.

'Bella, I'm sorry about your –' Rosalie started, but I cut her off already knowing what she was about to say. I didn't need any more sympathy.

'It's fine. Can we not talk about that? I don't like discussing…the past.' I said quickly, smiling hastily and turning around to wash my hands in the sink methodically, for something to distract me. Because it was the past, and nothing was going to bring my mom and dad back to me. I would have to battle on through the complex roads that life can bring you to, and hope for the best.

Out of my peripheral vision I saw Rosalie nod her head before looking down at her perfectly manicured nails.

'You know, it might help if you…talked about it.' She said quietly, still looking at her nail-beds. I smiled, almost cruelly, looking at her in the mirror.

'Everyone thinks that would help, don't they? But trust me, it doesn't. Most just want to know the gossip, to spread around the school what the freak has been through. No, I don't need that. I'm fine.' I said bleakly. My most common lie in the past three months; I'm fine.

'I'm sorry.' She apologised, meeting my gaze. Her eyes were full of honest sympathy, I had a feeling those words had a double meaning. I just smiled falsely at her, padding my hands dry on the paper towels beside me and checking my make-up. I picked up my bag I had dumped on the counter and turned round to face her.

'I'm gonna go home now, there's really no point in staying for the last, twenty minutes.' I said glancing at the time on my phone. "Thanks again for the Prozac, could you maybe not mention this to anyone?' I asked, hoping to keep my most recent panic attack under wraps at the school.

'What, are you afraid to be seen with me?' she teased, chuckling. Then her tone became more sober 'Of course, and could you not mention to Edward I told you about the panic attacks? He wouldn't _appreciate _me telling his business.' She said her face twisting up in a mix between humour and worry.

'No problem.' I replied, giving her a genuine grin and leaving her standing alone in the bathroom, with a peculiar expression on her face. If she kept my secrets, I would keep hers. I wandered down the corridors trying to be discreet about skipping class and sent Alice a text explaining my absence and telling her to come round tonight at six for our sleepover. I sent Emmett one too, explaining about the attack and that Alice would be staying tonight.

I figured I should tell Alice about the panic attacks, I mean if I was with her and I took one, then I wanted her to know how to help me. And I should tell her the less important things if I was keeping the rest locked away in a sealed vault.

I knew I was trying to keep an immaculate record in school, but I really couldn't stand sitting in class, even if it was for only 20 minutes. So I snuck out the exit and breathed a sigh of relief when the misting rain washed over my face.

It's ironic, when I lived in Phoenix I hated the rain, but now in Forks, it comforted me. Rain seemed natural in Forks. It wasn't natural in Phoenix, it wasn't right, almost as if it was a curse.

I walked easily to my car, confident that I wouldn't be caught ditching now that I was outside. The rain and fog provided me with a shield, and if anyone was to look out the window, all they would be able to see were faint and blurry shapes.

As I walked, my eyes glanced around the car-park, taking everything in that I could see, looking for anything abnormal. After _that_ I was hyper-aware of my surroundings at all time, well I tried to be. That was how I noticed the silver Volvo that had caught my eye earlier. Not really my type of car, I associated it with old men. The silver tint was beaded with raindrops, the darkened windows preventing me from seeing in. A flash of bronze hair and the rhythm of All American Rejects coming from the car told me that Edward Cullen was skipping class. Hm, good music taste I thought as I passed by, walking to my car and sliding in. I stuck my iPod back in and let the music fill my head as I pulled out of my space and out of the school, without a backwards glance to the Volvo and its owner.

* * *

Alice arrived in her run down Daihatsu Copen, the canary yellow paintwork rusted at the edges, and showering flecks of dirt everywhere as she made her way up the drive. I hurried to the door to let her in, the rain was getting heavier now and looked as though it was gonna be on all night, as Alice sprinted up the path. In heels. It was a fine art, running in heels. She ran in, shaking herself off and enveloped me in a hug.

'Shit Bella, don't do that to me! I was so worried about you when you didn't turn up in Spanish! I nearly got a toilet pass to go looking for you, and Alice Brandon never cuts class. Well, unless there's a sale.' She said quickly, her eyes appraising me.

'Sorry Al. Erm well, I take panic attacks sometimes. When people stare at me or talk about me when I'm there, that triggers them. I take medication for it, but today I never took it. I was curious to know that if I didn't take my pill, then I wouldn't take an attack, but I suppose curiosity killed the cat. I took an attack today, and I just couldn't face going back into class. ' I explained. I could see the sympathy in her face as she gave another hug.

'Aww Bella, you could have just told me earlier.' Was her response, before we moved onto another topic of conversation as we moved upstairs to my room. We had the house to ourselves tonight, I had told Emmett that Alice was coming over and he had cleared out, going over to Jaspers to have a 'man-to-man' talk. Yeah right, they'd probably get drunk and play Xbox, Call of Duty or some shit like it.

I had tidied the whole house in preparation for her staying, I had also raided the stacks of DVD's in the loft from when we had moved to try and find some of my favourites and ones that Alice would like.

Once we were in my room, I gave Alice some privacy to let her change. I had had a shower before she came over and changed into my comfiest sweats. We weren't exactly going anywhere; we were ordering dinner, so we didn't need to look good.

We relocated downstairs after Alice was changed, and I learned everything that was going on in Forks High School. Alice was quite the gossip, and knew what was going on in nearly every student's life.

Alice had a crush on Jasper Whitlock, as I had suspected. She went on about him for at least ten minutes, I had to cut her off when she started describing the way his nose twitched just the tiniest bit before he smiled. Too much detail. I liked Jasper, he was sweet, but I didn't want to know everything about him when we had only just met. They were friends, the best of, and she didn't want to mess it up by taking things too far if he didn't like her back. I had a sneaky feeling that he did, when he looked at her at lunch I noted the pure adoration in his eyes, and he would nod eagerly when she said something, agreeing with her straight away. It was really cute, but I would leave it to them to sort out their relationship, with maybe a few nudges here and there from me.

Tanya, Irina, Jessica and Lauren were the whores of the school. Apparently, they had made their rounds around every male student in Forks High at least once.

Kate, Angela, and Carmen were the nice girls, Alice had befriended them all, and the only reason she hadn't been sitting with them today was because Emmett and I were coming back. I would probably get on with them all; I had already hit it off with Angela in classes, so I hoped I would be able to fit in with their crowd easily. Jasper had made friends with Edward in one of their classes Alice said, so that would explain why they were sitting with us. I was surprised by this, when I was there Edward had hardly said a word, but before I arrived he had spoken to everyone at the table, including Emmett Alice told me. What a weird boy.

Typically, most of the boys at the school were horrible. The only friendly ones really were Ben, Eleazar, Garrett and Jasper of course, according to Alice. The rest only wanted a fuck. They were all in relationships though, not that I was looking for a boyfriend. Temporary passage I kept telling myself.

And the most interesting piece of knowledge Alice gave me was about the Cullen's. Carlisle Cullen; the new local doctor was Edward and Rosalie's father. Their mother was Esme Cullen; an interior designer in Port Angeles. Both Rosalie and Edward were seniors, twins really because they were born in the same year, but not the same date. They moved from Gilbert, Phoenix for unknown reasons. That was the only bit of info Alice couldn't get about them, nobody knew. I had thought this would answer all the questions I had asked myself in my head, but it only created more.

Alice and I had thoroughly caught up. We both knew all of each others secrets, except from the events of three months ago. She understood that I couldn't and wouldn't talk about it, and I would be forever grateful to her. I had a best friend again, and it was one of the best feelings in the world.

Emmett had come home at eleven, teasing Alice and I before ordering us all a pizza, Alice and I's second meal of the night. It was nice. After our parents death Emmett and I hadn't really spent time together. I felt guilty about that, and while in Phoenix, it felt as though I had lost my big brother. He seemed so _aged _for an eighteen year old boy. Having to pay bills and arrange funerals, talking to reporters and looking after me had taken its toll on him. He acted sombre and moody all of the time, and it got to the point where it scared me. I missed my fun loving brother. I got a bit of him back when we moved back to Forks, he seemed to come alive again and became more cheery and immature. It was still a ghost of who he was, but it was better. I suppose it was a fresh start for him moving to Forks, he could forget all that had happened and move on with his life.

I thought all this over as I lay in bed, Alice snoring softly at my side. I was trying to put off falling asleep, knowing that my usual nightmares would haunt me tonight. I didn't want to wake up Alice with them. Even though I had told her a little about them I was sure she would freak out, I mean I would too if someone started screaming in the middle of the night. Emmett had gotten used to it after the first few weeks of running in with a baseball bat to see who the intruder attacking me was.

I shut my eyes tight and snuggled under the cover, and soon the rhythmic pattering of the rain on my window soothed me to sleep, bringing with it my nightmare.

**Whatcha think? Drop me a review, the next one should be up soon.. I'm not that sure when though.**

**Rebecca 3**


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